As is known, semiconductor device fabrication typically includes transistor fabrication processing, which may involve conductive material deposition into appropriately configured openings in an intermediate circuit structure to create, for instance, gate structures of the transistors. This fabrication processing technique is often referred to as gate metallization processing. As the integration density of transistor continues to increase, the footprint area occupied by individual transistors necessarily continues to decrease. This ever-decreasing transistor size can result in challenges to the performance characteristics of the transistors, due to issues related to traditional fabrication processing techniques, including issues related to lack of planarity or uniformity of the gate structures, due to oxide loss and material recess.